Containers requiring lift trucks



Oct. 26, 1965 R. P. GAGNON 3,214,076

CONTAINERS REQUIRING LIFT TRUCKS Filed March 18, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Z6 T T 2 J 2 2 z 3/ Z5 5/ 28 INVENTOR. POLAND P GFIGNON HTTOQNEH Oct.26, 1965 R. P. GAGNON CONTAINERS REQUIRING LIFT TRUCKS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed March 18, 1964 m m m MJWW ATTORNEY Oct. 26, 1965 R. P. GAGNON3,214,076

CONTAINERS REQUIRING LIFT TRUCKS Filed March 18, 1964 s Sheebs-Sheet s ww "HIM w;

44 L40 INVENTOR.

POLAND P GQGNON T171 z/MZ JMZMM HTTOENEY United States Patent 3,214,076CONTAINERS REQUIRING LIFT TRUCKS Roland P. Cagnon, Thetford Mines,Quebec, Canada, as-

signor to Lake Asbestos of Quebec, Ltd., New York, N.Y., a corporationof Delaware Filed Mar. 18, 1964, Ser. No. 352,901 4 Claims. (Cl. 229-23)The invention relates to containers and, more particularly, topaperboard boxes or cartons which are large enough and heavy enough,when filled, to need lift trucks for transporting them. Such containersmay be used to carry asbestos fiber or other merchandise.

According to one conventional prior practice, asbestos fiber iscompressed and packed in 3-ply paper bags which Weigh, when filled,about 100 lbs. apiece. These bags are placed on heavy paperboardpallets, 20 bags to a pallet, making a pallet load of 2,000 lbs. Theloaded pallets are then moved by conventional lift trucks to astorehouse, or to a truck or railroad car for shipment to the customer.The loaded pallets are usually arranged in piles or stacks with marginsof the pallets protruding for engagement by the pull-pack attachments oflift trucks.

According to a preferred form of the present invention, it is proposedto pack the asbestos fiber in cardboard or paperboard boxes of a sizesuflicient to contain a pallet load of asbestos. The boxes may be filledWith twenty 100-lb. bags of asbestos, or the asbestos may be baled orcompressed into a 2000-lb. cube and then placed in the box withoutpre-bagging. These boxes may be of the order of 4 feet on a side. Thebottom of the box is made of a heavier material than the sides and top,and is provided with a reinforced margin and With a projecting front lipwhich can be pinched by a pulling attachment and pulled onto the fork ofa lift truck without requiring a separate pallet.

Objects of the invention are to provide a unitary container and pallet,to eliminate the need for the separate pallet, and generally to simplifythe packing, transporting and storage of asbestos fiber and othermerchandise.

Other objects and features of the invention will be more apparent fromthe following description when considered with the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIGURES 1-3 show the three blanks from which the box according to theinvention is made; scores are denoted by dot-dash lines.

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective of the box partially assembled andbefore packing.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective of the assembled box fully sealed.

FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic view of a pile of boxes showing the lifttruck with its pincers extended and open, preparatory to grasping thebox lip to pull the box onto the fork of the truck.

FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic view of a box after being pulled onto thefork of a lift truck, showing the pincers in closed position graspingthe box lip.

In the accompanying drawings and description forming part of thisspecification, certain specific disclosure of the invention is made forthe purposes of explanation, but it will be understood that the detailsmay be modified in various respects Without departure from the broadaspect of the invention.

In the following description and in the claims, various details will beidentified by specific names for convenience, but they are intended tobe as generic in their application as the art will permit.

Like reference characters denoted like parts in the several figures ofthe drawings.

Referring to FIGURES 1-5, the box according to the invention, comprisesa bottom section 10 (FIG. 1), a

See

back section 11 (FIG. 2), and a body section 12 (FIG. 3) forming thefront and two sides.

The bottom section 10 is made of heavy cardboard or corrugated board.The back section 11 and body section 12 are made of paperboard heavyenough to carry the merchandise but lighter than the bottom section 10.

The bottom section 10 comprises a bottom wall 13 having a projectingfront lip 14, side flaps 15 with end tabs 16 and 22, and a back flap 17.

The back section 11 comprises a back wall 18 having side flaps 19, abottom flap 20 and a back cover panel 21.

The body section 12 has a front Wall 23 and two side walls 24. The frontwall 23 has a front cover panel 25, and the side walls 24 have sidecover panels 26. The front and side walls have bottom flaps 27, 28, withslots 31.

The several sections are suitably cut and scored to form the Walls,flaps, tabs and panels. The cuts are indicated by solid lines and thescores are indicated by dot-dash lines.

The sections are assembled as follows depending upon the merchandise andthe manner of filling the container. Securement of the several flaps,tabs, panels and walls may be by glue, tape or staples, as desired.

Referring to FIGURE 4, asbestos fiber may be packaged as follows: Thecomposite body section 12 and bottom section 10 (but not the backsection 11) are first assembled with the flaps in the position shown inFIG. URE 4.

The side flaps 15 on the bottom section 10 are secured to the outsidesurfaces of the side walls 24 of the body section 12. The bottom flaps28 are secured to the inner surface of bottom Wall 13. Front end tabs 16are tucked in through slots 31 and secured to the inner surface of frontwall 23. Back end tabs 22 are secured to back flap 17.

The top cover panels are left unsecured, and the back section is notassembled at this time.

The incomplete box comprising the assembled body section 12 and bottomsection 10 is placed in a jig (not shown). The jig comprises a metalcontainer the same size as the box and is for the purpose of reinforcingtemporarily the side walls of the box until it is packed.

The twenty -lb. asbestos filled bags (which may now be of single plypaper) are then placed in the box through its open back. Or, if desired,the asbestos fiber may be compressed into cubes and packed into the boxwithout .prebagging.

When the box is filled, the back section '11 is secured in place. Bottomflap '20 is secured to the inner surface of bottom wall .-13. Back fiap'17 is secured to the outer surface of back wall '18. Side flaps I19 aresecured to the outer surface of side walls 24. The top panels 21, 25, 26are then secured together to close the box.

It will be understood that the box may be made in other sizes and shapesand may be used to contain merchandise other than asbestos. For somepurposes it may be desirable to assemble the back section L1 beforefilling the box, and then fill the box through the open top.

Referring to FIGURES 6 and 7, one manner of transporting and storing thepacked boxes and utilizing the pull lip '14 will now be described. Onlyso much of the lift truck as is applicable to the invention will bedescribed.

One type of lift truck with pull-pack attachment =comprises a thin fiatlifting fork 40 which is able to engage closely against the floor 41.The fork 40 has a base 38 mounted on a guide 42 to raise and lower thefork 40 as indicated by arrow 39, in a generally conventional manner.

The pulling attachment comprises a set of pinching members 43, 44mounted on a reaching head 45. Head 45 may be projected away from the.truck beyond the free end of the fork and retracted back against thebase 38 of the fork by the truck operator, as indicated by arrow 46. Thelower pinching member 44 has a recess and engages under the front boxlip '14, and the upper member 43 is in the form of a blade and engagesover the front lip to press the flexible lip firmly into the recess ofthe lower pinching member.

To remove a box A (FIG. 6) from a pile of filled boxes A, B, and Chaving integral lips 14, the truck is first advanced to place its =fork40 adjacent the projecting lip 14 of box A. The pulling attachment isthen operated to extend the reaching head 45 adjacent the end of thefork to place the pinching members 43, 44 over and under the lip 14.

The operator then operates the pinching members 43, 44 to grasp the lip'14. He then retracts the head 4'5, which pulls the box A onto the fork40 to a position with the reaching head 45 completely retracted (FIG.7). The fork 40 may then be lowered or raised while carrying the box,and the truck maneuvered to move the box to any other desired position.

To discharge a box from the fork 40, the fork is lowered to the floor orelevated to the desired position to place the box on top of other boxes.The pulling attach ment is then operated to extend head 45 to push thebox oil the fork 40 into the place selected for the box. The pinchermembers 4-3, 44 of the truck are then opened to disengage the lip 14,and the truck removed for further work.

Thus a carton and method of palletizing has been provided which hasnumerous advantages. There is no danger of the merchandise slipping offthe pallet which now is the box bottom. The heavy bottom wall with itsupstanding heavy side and back flaps strengthens the entire box. Thecarton, though large, is admirably adapted for shipping large bulkymaterials of large total weight, and the built-in pallet does notinterfere with the containing and shipping qualities of the cart-on.

While certain novel features of the invention have been disclosedherein, and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understoodthat, in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents, various omissions,substitutions and changes maybe made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A container adapted for palletizing by a lift truck having a pullingdevice with pinch members, said container comprising .a bottom Wall andupstanding back, front and side walls, said container walls being offiberboard, said bottom wall being heavier than said upstanding walls,said bottom wall carrying a projecting front lip, said projecting frontlip extending along the effective length of the front lower corner ofthe container, said :lip being sufficiently long lengthwise of thecorner, and sufficiently wide transversely of the corner, to enable itto be grasped by the pinch members of the pulling device, said lip beingsufliciently heavy to withstand the pulling force of the pulling device,and sufficien-tly pliable to bend under the pressure exerted by saidpinch members.

2. A container according to claim 1, said heavier bottom wall havingflaps on its back and sides, means attaching said flaps to theirrespective back and side walls to strengthen said bottom wall, saidupstanding walls comprising a plurality of blanks.

3. A carton made principally of paperboard comprising a =first blank ofheavy paperboard having a bottom Wall with a projecting slip on itsfront margin, a second blank forming upstanding front and side walls, athird blank forming an upstanding back wall, said upstanding Wallshaving panels to form a cover for the box, said second and third blanksbeing made of lighter material than said first blank.

4. A carton according to claim 3, said bottom wall having flaps on backand sides to engage said back and side walls respectively to strengthenthe bot-tom wall.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 429,960 6/90Riedell 229-23 1,572,296 2/26 Kramer et al 229-23 1,863,259 6/32 VanBuren 229-23 1,958,230 5/34 Blechman 22923 X FRANKLIN T. GARRETT,Primary Examiner.

1. A CONTAINER ADAPTED FOR PALLETIZING BY A LIFT TRUCK HAVING A PULLINGDEVICE WITH PINCH MEMBERS, SAID CONTAINER COMPRISING A BOTTOM WALL ANDUPSTANDING BACK, FRONT AND SIDE WALLS, SAID CONTAINER WALLS BEING OFFIBERBOARD, SAID BOTTOM WALL BEING HEAVIER THAN SAID UPSTANDING WALLS,SAID BOTTOM WALL CARRYING A PROJECTING FRONT LIP, SAID PROJECTING FRONTLIP EXTENDING ALONG THE EFFECTIVE LENGTH OF THE FRONT LOWER CORNER OFTHE CONTAINER, SAID LIP BEING SUFFICIENTLY LONG LENGTHWISE OF THECORNER, AND SUFFICENTLY WIDE TRANSVERSELY OF THE CORNER, TO ENABLE IT TOBE GRASPED BY THE PINCH MEMBERS OF THE PULLING DEVICE, SAID LIP BEINGSUFFICIENTLY HEAVY TO WITHSTAND THE PULLING FORCE OF THE PULLING DEVICE,AND SUFFICIENTLY PLIABLE TO BEND UNDER THE PRESSURE EXERTED BY SAIDPINCH MEMBERS.